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Colin Judge: Testing structural materials in Idaho’s newest hot cell facility
Idaho National Laboratory’s newest facility—the Sample Preparation Laboratory (SPL)—sits across the road from the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), which started operating in 1975. SPL will host the first new hot cells at INL’s Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) in 50 years, giving INL researchers and partners new flexibility to test the structural properties of irradiated materials fresh from the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) or from a partner’s facility.
Materials meant to withstand extreme conditions in fission or fusion power plants must be tested under similar conditions and pushed past their breaking points so performance and limitations can be understood and improved. Once irradiated, materials samples can be cut down to size in SPL and packaged for testing in other facilities at INL or other national laboratories, commercial labs, or universities. But they can also be subjected to extreme thermal or corrosive conditions and mechanical testing right in SPL, explains Colin Judge, who, as INL’s division director for nuclear materials performance, oversees SPL and other facilities at the MFC.
SPL won’t go “hot” until January 2026, but Judge spoke with NN staff writer Susan Gallier about its capabilities as his team was moving instruments into the new facility.
Faten N. Al Zubaidi, Kyle L. Walton, Robert V. Tompson, Tushar K. Ghosh, Sudarshan K. Loyalka
Nuclear Technology | Volume 205 | Number 6 | June 2019 | Pages 790-800
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295450.2018.1542257
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The effect of long-term oxidation on the total hemispherical emissivity of Type 316L stainless steel (SS 316L) is of interest in nuclear plant safety and is reported on here. ASTM standard C835-06 [American Society for Testing and Materials, 2006] was used for measuring the total hemispherical emissivity of this material for the following surface conditions: (1) “as-received” from the manufacturer (essentially unoxidized) and (2) oxidized in air at 573 K for up to 3000 h. The emissivity of the as-received samples varied within the range from 0.24 at 434 K to 0.34 at 1026 K. Oxidation in air at 573 K for 500 h increased the emissivity range of the oxidized sample from 0.28 at 429 K to 0.38 at 1096 K. There was no further significant change in emissivity observed following an increase in the oxidation time from 500 to 3000 h. It is suspected that the emissivity ceased to increase during the additional oxidation time because of chromium oxide that formed on the SS 316L surface inhibiting further oxidation.
